Welcome to Setting Up Shop, a new series in which we take you around the world to the most dynamic and emerging luxury shopping hubs, introduce you to the customers, and get an understanding of what makes the local market tick.
Charleston is no longer a sleepy Southern city. “It’s just gone crazy,” says Robben Richards, founder of fashion boutique Worthwhile, reflecting on the city’s transformation since she opened a store on King Street over 30 years ago.
Thanks in part to an influx of new residents from cities like New York and Washington following the pandemic, Richards has witnessed Charleston evolve into a nationally recognised shopping hub that attracts a discerning consumer. Now located on Magazine Street, a five-minute walk from King Street, Worthwhile specialises in pieces from avant-garde designers in Japan, Italy and France, including labels such as Casey Casey, Arts Science, and Christian Wijnants, with prices ranging from $300 to over $1,500. “There’s a lot more money coming into this town,” says Richards. “And the customer is much more educated. People are looking for meaningful pieces, not just labels.”
According to the Charleston Visitors Bureau, the city welcomed 7.9 million visitors in 2024, up from 7.7 million in 2023 and 7.4 million pre-pandemic in 2019. Shopping is the fourth most popular visitor activity behind historical tours, fine dining and beach visits. Tourism generated $14.03 billion in economic impact last year — a 7 per cent increase year-on-year — while spend per adult hit $1,105 (up from $878 in 2019), suggesting a growing affluent traveller base. A steady influx of workers is migrating from larger northern states such as California and Illinois in search of lifestyle-rich secondary cities, with job opportunities in sectors such as technology, finance and manufacturing also taking shape.
“Post-Covid, people started choosing quality of life, and Charleston really fits that brief,” says Molly Howard, co-founder of New York-based womenswear brand La Ligne, which opened its largest store to date on King Street in May 2024, following a spike in online sales in the area. “We saw the data on our website, so we embedded ourselves in the growing community,” she explains. La Ligne tested the water with a series of trunk shows before cutting the ribbon on the store. “Our adjacencies are insane, we’re between Vuitton and Gucci, which helps with discovery,” Howard adds.
French brand Sézane and US brand LoveShackFancy also opened permanent stores on King Street. “We knew Charleston had potential,” says Rebecca Hessel Cohen, founder of LoveShackFancy. “There’s a vibrancy here — the weddings, the students, the tourists — but also a loyal local customer that you don’t find in every city.”
.png)
Pop-up experiments like the Bal Harbour Shops Collective, which arrived on the waterfront in February 2025, through to April, with pop-ups from Tiffany Co., Golden Goose, Balmain, Dolce Gabbana, Etro, Lanvin and Valentino, also point to a city willing to test new retail formats. “The reception was phenomenal,” says merchandising lead Javier Chia. “Locals came back again and again. People were surprised at how fashion-forward Charleston actually is.” Meanwhile, Charleston stalwarts like Hampden, a multibrand boutique whose designer roster includes Tibi, Proenza Schouler, Isabel Marant and Toteme, continue to expand e-commerce and clienteling to meet surging demand. “We’re buying more, we’re buying bolder, and our clients want what’s new, not just what’s safe,” says Stacy Smallwood, founder of Hampden. “That’s what sets Charleston shoppers apart.”
Charleston may still carry the aesthetic of its Southern history — cobblestone streets, pastel townhouses and horse-drawn carriages carrying tourists to landmarks and historic piazzas — but beneath the charm is a fast-developing commercial core. “We like to say Charleston is one big, beautiful photo op,” says Jackie Thomson, founder of lifestyle PR consultancy Of Counsel, based in the city. “There’s so much visual beauty here. It’s a lifestyle-driven city that inspires loyalty, creativity and repeat visits. It made perfect sense that luxury followed.”
Below, Vogue Business breaks down what brands need to know before setting up shop in Charleston.
The lowdown
Luxury shopping in Charleston revolves around King Street. The strip has undergone a rapid reinvention over the past decade, says Thomson, becoming the city’s de facto retail destination. Stretching approximately 2.7 miles through the city’s peninsula — from Morris Street in the north to Broad Street in the south — it benefits from high tourist footfall.
At the heart is The Charleston Place, a hotel located between King and Meeting Street, which underwent a $150 million renovation in 2022 under new owner Beemok Hospitality Group (BHC). The renewed focus on lifestyle and luxury helped reposition the surrounding block as Charleston’s most coveted retail stretch, well-positioned between Louis Vuitton and Gucci and anchored by boutiques like La Ligne and Estelle Colored Glass. “We’ve created an ecosystem where visitors can dine, shop and stay in one destination,” says the hotel’s managing director, Rebecca Hubbard. “You could do some serious [retail] damage without even leaving our block.”
Just a few steps away, Hampden is a shopping go-to. Founded in 2007 by Stacy Smallwood, it was one of the first to bet on Charleston’s fashion potential. “Our client wants discovery and edge, not just pretty dresses,” says Smallwood. “[The Charleston customer is] fashion-conscious, she’s loyal, and she trusts us to push her style forward.”
The mix of luxury monobrands adjacent to indie boutiques is part of King Street’s appeal. “People love that they can walk out of La Ligne, stop for coffee at Harken, and stumble into Hampden to find something totally unique,” says Hubbard. “The discovery factor here is huge; it’s not all just recognisable logos.”
However, King Street isn’t without limitations. Sidewalks are narrow, parking is limited, and locals don t love navigating around the tourists on the sidewalks or fighting for seats in restaurants, says Thomson. As a result, she predicts that other areas will blossom. “We’re definitely seeing signs of saturation,” Thomson adds. “It’s becoming harder for new brands to find viable spaces, especially if they want more than 2,000 square feet.” Beyond the logistics, the fashion offer itself still has room to evolve. While the luxury influx has brought new energy, the product buy currently leaves less room for those shoppers with more experimental or gender-fluid tastes. “It’s still hard in Charleston for someone like me who is fashion-forward to shop freely, but it’s getting better,” says stylist and Charleston local Clayne Slaven.
Broad Street, just a few blocks south, is now on the radar for brands seeking quieter, more architecturally distinguished storefronts. “There’s real potential on Broad,” says Thomson. “The bones are beautiful, historic façades, high ceilings, but the retail footprint hasn’t caught up yet.”
The more transformational shift will come with The Cooper, a luxury waterfront hotel and retail development opening in 2026. Situated just off East Bay Street, the project promises to bring a highly visible, tourist-rich retail zone to a part of Charleston that’s been under-leveraged to date. “There’s no true waterfront shopping in Charleston yet,” Hubbard notes.
It’s part of a broader evolution happening across Charleston’s retail landscape: one where location matters, but brand identity and customer connection matter more. For luxury players eyeing the city, success will come from understanding how to curate an offer that suits the Charleston consumer.
Charleston is a US wedding destination hotspot, hosting 3,000 in 2024, according to The Wedding Report. That volume translates into retail footfall as wedding parties descend on the city to prep for the big day.
“Weddings are a major customer driver for us,” says LoveShackFancy’s Cohen. “We see mother-daughter-grandmother trios and bridal groups all in one day.” The brand’s 2,200-square-foot Charleston store is now one of its top-performing nationwide (ranked in its top three national locations), with over 200,000 annual visitors and consistently strong performance in categories like fragrance, accessories and occasionwear, thanks to the wedding footfall.
It’s not just weddings. Graduation season and girls’ trips make up a year-round cycle of retail opportunity, notes Hubbard. “Charleston has this tradition-meets-trend energy,” says Anne Peyton Sugg, sales associate at Loeffler Randall, where pleated bridal shoes and embellished sandals are bestsellers. “You’ll have someone shopping for a rehearsal dinner dress next to a college student grabbing something playful for her formal. They’re all looking for statement pieces, just with different budgets and use cases.”
At Hampden, Smallwood says special occasions are baked into her buy. “We always think about the woman dressing for something. Whether it’s a destination wedding, a graduation, or an anniversary dinner downtown. She wants to feel elevated, but she also wants to feel like herself.”
Loyalty rules in Charleston, despite its tourist footfall: many visitors return several times a year for college visits or family weekends. “We’ve built a community here. It’s not transactional, it’s emotional. They want to come in, be recognised, and chat with the same associate. That sense of familiarity drives deeper loyalty,” says Cohen. “We see the same families come back each season, and each time, they bring sisters, cousins, friends. It becomes this growing circle of brand advocates.”
La Ligne leans into this with clienteling. “Our repeat rate is high,” says Howard. “And the team here maintains those relationships incredibly well by texting styling updates, sending sneak peeks of new collections, even shipping items overnight for a weekend event to our customers. That kind of service is what keeps people coming back.”
At Hampden, Smallwood has built a business around bespoke styling services and long-distance client relationships. “We maintain customer profiles, track previous purchases, and curate edits before a client even walks in the door,” she says. “If someone’s coming in from Atlanta or Charlotte, we’ll have a full rack waiting — with shoes, accessories, everything.”
This sets the tone for newer entrants to the market. It’s not enough to open a beautiful store; brands have to build a relationship infrastructure behind it. “Charleston’s pace is slower, but the expectations are high,” says Smallwood. “If you know your client, they’ll trust you and they’ll stay with you.”
As Charleston’s retail scene scales up, some longtime visitors are noticing a shift in the retail landscape. Some shoppers point to a diminishing presence of smaller, independent boutiques — a once-defining feature. For brands entering the market, it’s a reminder that while demand for luxury megabrands is growing, opportunities remain for more curated, niche offerings that tap into local appetite for discovering unique products.
City quirks
Charleston’s subtropical climate — with hot, humid summers and mild winters — directly shapes what shoppers want and what stores can sell. With average highs in the 80s°F (27-32°C) from May through September, and barely a chill even in winter, outerwear takes a back seat to breathable fabrics, versatile layers and warm-weather staples. This means that the merchandising calendar that applies in New York and across many cities in Europe doesn’t apply in Charleston. “Brands that tailor their assortment [lighter fabrics, brighter colours, pieces with movement] perform significantly better for us,” says Brad Kneece, Worthwhile’s buyer and brand director.
Store tracker
.png)
Place your bets
The next wave of property development in Charleston is set to accelerate the city’s retail transformation. Opening in June 2025, Hotel Richemont from The Indigo Road Hospitality Group will debut at the corner of King and Society Street, anchored between the key shopping intersections. By 2028, Charleston’s hotel offering will further expand with the arrival of the Four Seasons. “That Four Seasons property will change everything,” predicts Thomson. “It’ll bring an even more discerning shopper to the region, someone who knows luxury, expects service, and has the means to invest in both.”
Meanwhile, waterfront and historic homes in Charleston now regularly command prices above $5 million, according to Sotheby’s International Realty. And with every property purchase comes a new wave of high-spending residents who approach their homes as full expressions of personal style. “There’s a wave of homeowners arriving from metropolitan cities like New York, Los Angeles, and from the Pacific Northwest,” says Neal Rice, retail director at luxury homewares store Wentworth. “These consumers have such a keen eye, they want layered, well-made, storied pieces. And they’re looking to local, luxury retailers to help them realise that vision.”
Charleston is also a rich cultural and festival haven, with expanding arts programming such as home design events, and culinary festivals attracting national attention, alongside Charleston Fashion Week (sponsored by Lexus, 2025 dates remain to be confirmed) and the Credit One Charleston Tennis Open in March. A spokesperson for the tourist board says infrastructure investments (including pedestrian-friendly planning and revitalised public spaces) are building the connective tissue of a city primed for long-term growth.
For brands, the implications are clear. Charleston is a city where people are putting down roots, investing in lifestyle, and coming back again and again. As Thomson concludes: “The opportunity isn’t on the horizon, it’s already here.”
Meet the shoppers
A stylist and Charleston local, 26-year-old Clayne Slaven was shopping at Hampden for Bermuda shorts. “There’s a lot of androgyny in fashion, and just because something’s tailored to one gender doesn’t mean it’s not for everyone,” he says. Clayne shops both online and in-store, often gravitating towards boutiques with more progressive or fashion-forward buys. Hampden is his go-to for elevated looks; men’s boutique retailer, Jordan Lash, for more tailored finds. However, Slaven remains optimistic that the city is changing. “[There are] more curated shops, more brands, more individuality. It’s starting to feel like a mini Rodeo Drive.”
Sisters Sophie (25) and Stella (20) were shopping at Loeffler Randall during Sophie’s visit from out of town. Stella, a student at the College of Charleston, often shops for weekend looks between classes. “It’s fun to just walk down King Street after class and find something new,” she says. The sisters cite Hampden, Sephora and King Street’s mix of high-end and casual fashion as their go-tos. “Charleston feels more elevated now, there’s definitely more luxury than when I first started school,” Stella adds.
Originally from Charleston but now living in North Carolina, 73-year-old retiree Jesse Tarplet returns often to visit and always makes time to shop. On this trip, she was in Louis Vuitton looking for a purse. “Where I live, there aren’t many stores,” she says. “Here, there’s variety, I can shop all over and actually find things I like.” Even though she doesn’t live in Charleston anymore, it’s a favourite destination for luxury purchases. However, she does miss the roster of smaller independent boutiques that Charleston was known for when she was growing up.
A 19-year-old student who’s lived in Charleston since she was seven, Victoria Bunting was out for a casual shopping day, balancing bags from Gucci and Louis Vuitton. “I shop a mix,” she says. “Free People, Style Exchange, Brandy Melville, but I love luxury too.” While she’s always enjoyed shopping in Charleston, she’s noticed a recent uptick in options. “We didn’t always have Alice + Olivia or Reformation, now we’re getting stores like that, and it’s exciting.”
Visiting from out of state for her future daughter-in-law’s bachelorette weekend, 68-year-old property developer Kim Spencer was on the hunt for a Gucci belt. “I have Hermès, but this is one thing I’ve been missing,” she says. While it was her first time shopping in Charleston, the city’s elegance stood out. “It reminds me of New Orleans, but cleaner. The architecture, the atmosphere. It’s wonderful.” Though a newcomer, she says the shopping scene has a sophistication and warmth that she’d return for.
More from this topic.
Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com.
